Tropical - Fish -
Pictures .com

This is a tropical
fish site for all tropical fish enthusiasts from beginner to expert. It
has some nice tropical fish pictures and will hopefully have something
of interest for all freshwater and marine fish keepers. These tropical
fish pages provide some information about some of my favourite fish,
along with tropical fish pictures of them. I have kept fish for many
years now, ranging from community to marine. Over this period I have
been drawn towards catfish, and the cichlids, which I must confess,
through there antics have become my favourites. I now keep African and
American cichlids, along with some catfish and plecs.

Usually kept with cichlids of Malawi and Tanganyika. Slightly territorial towards
its own species, but much less so than many Synodontis species.

Temperature

22-26oC (72-79oF)

Water chemistry

Hard and alkaline, pH 7.5-8.5

Feeding

An insectivore, so live or frozen foods may be prefered, but will accept flake and tablet foods. Snail eater.

Sexing

Males tend to be smaller and may have longer pectoral spines. Like other Synodontis, it may also
be possible to see a short papillae close to the males vent.

Breeding

The common name of 'Cuckoo' derives from this catfishes habit of swimming between
spawning cichlids, eating their eggs and depositing their own. The eggs are then picked up by the mouthbrooding
female cichlid and the resulting fry raised with her own fry.

Comments

A very attractively patterned catfish which makes an ideal and interesting addition to a Rift Lake setup
of Malawi or Tanganyika cichlids. They are often more active in the daytime than many other Synodontis, especially if a small group is kept.